Chapter 1515 The main attack direction, Songjiang West City
As a professor-level Army Major General, Tokutaro Sakai soon realized that the Chinese commander he was facing who issued a coded call to fight to the death was unusual. Not only was he determined to fight to the death, but more importantly, he
Unconventional tactics were used.
This battlefield is different from previous field battles and city offensive and defensive battles. This is also a brand new battlefield for the Sixth Division. If it attempts to annihilate the Chinese army with superior force and firepower, then the Sixth Division may be
An unimaginable price will be paid, and the division headquarters' previous strategy of hoping for a quick victory within one day must be changed.
It has to be said that Tokutaro Sakai is worthy of being an army major general who was born as a professor at Army University. He can quickly learn from failures and learn from them. You must know that after the era of cold weapons entered the era of hot weapons, city and street fighting has been a weapon since its birth.
The most brutal war is also the most helpless for both the offensive and defensive sides.
Not to mention the Battle of Stalingrad, which caused more than 850,000 casualties to the powerful Third Reich and more than 1.1 million Red Polar Bear casualties, which was said to last as long as 199 days. Let’s talk about the future outbreak on the Chinese battlefield, which will be called the “Defense of Eastern Moscow”.
"Battle of Hengyang". Although the troops invested by China and Japan cannot be compared with the two giants in the north, the Japanese army as the attacker invested 4 divisions with nearly 100,000 troops.
The Chinese side has an infantry corps of 17,600 people, and both sides have also invested nearly 120,000 troops.
The final result of the horrific urban street fighting was that the four divisions of the Japanese army suffered more than 39,000 casualties, leaving only a few thousand soldiers on the Chinese side. Although the Japanese side, which suffered heavy casualties, won the final victory, the final result was that the four divisions were defeated.
Half disabled, Tojo Hideki's cabinet was disbanded due to the heavy casualties in this battle.
It can be said that in any urban street battle, as long as the defender's will is strong enough, even if the attacker has an absolute advantage, he will pay an unimaginable price. Faced with the defeat in the first battle, he sent a letter to the division headquarters requesting to postpone the attack and wait for the heavy artillery brigade.
Tokutaro Sakamoto, who arrived with the regiment for reinforcements, can definitely be regarded as a relatively sober army commander among the Japanese army.
However, he is not the commander of the Sixth Division. He is just a small major general brigade commander. The man who calls the shots for the Sixth Division is Hisao Tani, who is proud and manic, capable of fighting and never afraid of powerful enemies.
Lieutenant General.
"Please do not forget your duty, and just work hard to implement the military orders that have been decided by the division headquarters. I hope you will return with a great victory." This was the reply from Hisao Tani at the headquarters of the Sixth Division after receiving the telegram from Sakai Tokutaro.
Although the content of the message is not outrageous, the dissatisfaction is clear. The implication is clearly that I am the boss of the Sixth Division, and you, as the younger brother, can fight according to my wishes. What more words!
Of course, although Hisao Tani was arrogant, it did not mean that he was short-legged and brainless. After all, he still gave his capable subordinate some face. After learning that Sakai Tokutaro's troops had suffered two consecutive defeats west of Matsue, the battle losses amounted to several dozen.
Hundreds of people, after once again studying the city defense in the west of Songjiang City obtained through reconnaissance, frowned and with a stroke of a pen, the old rival 23rd Infantry Regiment, which was half disabled by the 152nd Regiment on the bank of the Huangpu River, was assigned to Sakai
Under Tokutaro's command, he once again strengthened the infantry force under his command to more than 4,000 people, with the strength of 4 infantry brigades. He also transferred two Type 89 tanks, which was much improved compared to the previous infantry regiment.
Hisao Tani has realized that compared to the weaker defensive southeast sides, the west side of Matsue City may become the main direction of attack in the entire Battle of Matsue.
The reason why the direction with the strongest defense and the most difficult difficulty is chosen as the main attack direction is determined by Hisao Tani's character. In his view, defeating the defensive position where the enemy has invested the most troops is more conducive to destroying the enemy's confidence and strength.
Morale. It's like two people fighting. Defeating the opponent's most proud part can quickly disintegrate the enemy's fighting spirit and finally achieve the final victory.
For this Japanese Army Lieutenant General, the morale and confidence of the soldiers are the most important factors that determine the direction of victory on the battlefield. In the past, this is how he won victory in his own way under the walls of Nanjing, and it was also with inhumane methods.
The killings were carried out to improve the so-called morale of the soldiers of the Sixth Division.
Of course, the morale and confidence of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division who were transferred to the Pacific battlefield were eventually reduced to ashes under the overwhelming artillery fire of the American cowboys. The "short-legged general" who was the butcher of the war was also sent to the gallows, but
His theory was still pursued by countless Japanese generals in the early stages of the war.
Fighting strong against strong is the main reason why Hisao Tani sent the 23rd Infantry Regiment, which was originally a reserve force, to Matsue West City. The main direction of attack in the Battle of Matsue has gradually shifted from the east to the west, and the Japanese artillery
A group of cannon muzzles pointed slantingly at the sky were also aimed at the west side of Songjiang City.
That was the result of Sakai Tokutaro asking for artillery support with a helpless expression after receiving Hisao Tani's message.
Second Lieutenant Hideo Fukuda was not punished for losing the lives of 44 subordinates, even though he was the only surviving second lieutenant of the four infantry squads and did not die in battle to protect the glory of the Imperial Army like the other three second lieutenants. But he still brought back the glory of the Imperial Army.
He killed 7 soldiers, even if the look of horror on the faces of the 7 soldiers made people want to slap their ears.
From Fukuda Hideo's mouth, Sakai Tokutaro knew how the 94 tank was destroyed and that the Chinese actually used a terrible thing like the Molotov cocktail. Of course Sakai Tokutaro, who is good at studying various battles, knew the power that the Molotov cocktail had shown.
, it is not bad luck that the steel monsters, which were created with huge resources from the empire, are vulnerable to them. At close range, that simple gadget is simply more terrifying than explosives.
Of course, what troubled the Japanese major general the most was not the Molotov cocktails, but the people who used Molotov cocktails while hiding in civilian houses. Through Hideo Fukuda’s description, he learned that the Chinese hiding there were very concerned about the densely populated residential areas with extremely complex terrain.
Incomparably familiar, their speed in chasing and escaping is unparalleled. What's even more frightening is that they will hide in any corner you can imagine and shoot, while their own soldiers can only stand in the streets or alleys as living targets, because
They cannot enter every house, and even if they do, they cannot guarantee their own safety, or they cannot guarantee that after the search, there will be no Chinese in that house.
Those damn Chinese houses are so densely packed that they can easily go from one house to another without being noticed.
It might be the best way to send out all the troops at hand to search this area house by house and move forward, but looking at the densely packed private houses outside the 2,000-meter-wide city wall through the telescope, Sakai
Tokutaro couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness. If that were the case, even if a few hours passed, he would not know how many Chinese people's desperate counterattack would cause many casualties to the imperial army. This was the key point that made him difficult to make a decision.
.
What's even more frightening is that he also thought about the night, in the dark night, could he let thousands of his subordinates be stationed in Chinese private houses that seemed safe but were actually full of murderous intentions? Even if there was no Chinese attack,
What if the Chinese in the city opened fire?
Unless this residential area is completely destroyed.
"Brimstone" Sakai Tokutaro's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought about this.
Yes, if you want to deal with the Chinese troops hiding in this Chinese residential area, "brimstone bombs" are the best choice to deal with them. Although it is a bit too cruel, in the face of the large number of casualties under your command, you still have a very military temperament in your heart.
Tokutaro Sakai decided to use it after hesitating for nearly a minute.
The so-called sulfur bombs are actually the original version of incendiary bombs. Although not as exaggerated as the napalm bombs of later generations, they are also a chemical weapon expressly prohibited by the Geneva Convention! A large amount of combustion-supporting fuel can not only cause huge flames, but also emit
Toxic gases also cause irreversible damage to the human body.
It is the most suitable weapon to deal with the densely packed residential buildings in China. It can turn this place into a terrible fire scene and burn all the Chinese who are resisting into cokes. Then they can attack the Songjiang city defense with all their strength. In the face of gains and losses,
, Sakai Tokutaro finally gave up his extremely persistent military temperament and chose to become a person like Hisao Tani, commander of the Sixth Division.
In order to win and for the sake of the empire, one must give up something that one personally insists on. Sakai Tokutaro gave a reason to comfort himself.
...
In a Chinese residential house 2,000 meters away from the Japanese army's main line, a group of security guards cried tears of joy as they looked at "Zhen Laoshi" who was scorched black all over but slowly opened her eyes.
The Japanese army ran away in a hurry and did not shoot at the wounded Chinese soldiers who were dragged five meters behind the 94 tank. In addition to cherishing their own escape time, another reason was that the crazy burning tank was ten meters away.
They all felt the heat was unbearable, not to mention the Chinese wounded soldier who had lost all mobility. Without a miracle, the Chinese wounded soldier would be swallowed up by the huge heat just like the wounded Chinese soldier they tied to the tank.
However, the Japanese who were willing to abandon them at will in order to survive did not expect that since the Tang Dynasty, they could secretly learn Chinese flower arrangements, secretly learn Chinese tea art, secretly learn Chinese Tang swords... they secretly learned
There are many technologies and arts in China, but they have not secretly learned the cultural traditions deep in the bones of the Chinese people.
Even if their opponents are just a group of ruffians in China, those ruffians are still Chinese at heart. "Brothers are like brothers and sisters, women are like clothing." Although there is some male chauvinism, it is the way that people at the bottom of China's old society hug each other for warmth.
important factors.
Qingpi rushed out of the shop as soon as the Japanese army fled crazily, and rushed towards "Zhen Laoshi" who was almost surrounded by flames. He rolled several times to escape the fire scene while carrying the wounded soldier who had lost all mobility. Qingpi was not trying to escape.
The Japanese army's shooting was to extinguish the flames burning on themselves and the wounded soldiers. If it had been ten seconds later, "Zhen Laoshi" would probably have become "really burnt".
After all, some "selfish" Qingpi is still unwilling to help "Zhen Laoshi" bear so many burdens. It is better to leave these responsibilities to him himself. He would rather fight the Japanese here to the death.
.
The excited soldiers of the Songjiang Security Regiment did not know that a more terrifying fire was about to come, and not only ten or eight of them would be scorched.